Riders storm again?

Holden's Precision Driving Team may be brought back from the brink, writes JOSHUA DOWLING.

Riders storm again?

A Sydney businessman and a motor racing identity are trying to resurrect the Holden Precision Driving Team at the 11th hour.

As Drive went to press this week, former race car driver Wayne Boatwright and

his business partner Scott Anderson were in talks with Holden and other leading car manufacturers.

Boatwright and Anderson bought everything that remained of the team after founder Lloyd Robertson announced his retirement late last year.

After 38 years in the business, 35 of them with Holden, Robertson decided to retire a year early when Holden told him last October that it could no longer offer financial support but was happy for him to use its cars for one more year.

Last week, a statement by Boatwright and Anderson said: "We are confident that the team will be back on the road again soon."

Two of the Holden stunt cars were crushed earlier this month, a legal requirement given that the cars the team used were engineering development vehicles that are not to be sold to the public. However, last-minute negotiations with Holden saw the rest of the cars rescued from the crusher.

"We've been inundated with inquiries from all the big shows wanting to know what's happening," Boatwright says.

"All the drivers are keen to keep the team going."

The Holden Precision Driving Team was known as the Stormriders for the past three years as it performed its routine in Commodore SS Storm utes.

After 9000 performances Robertson, aged 60, and his wife of 35 years, Pam, decided to retire.

The last show under Robertson's guidance was in Bendigo, Victoria, in late October last year.

"I'm 60, it was time to retire anyway," Robertson says. "I was going to retire at the end of 2007 but this just brought it forward. I have nothing bad to say about Holden. We've had a wonderful relationship over the years."

The team drove Holdens in all but three years after starting in Monaros in 1968. It switched to Hyundais between 2000 and 2002 when Holden redirected its sponsorship money towards the Sydney Olympic Games.

"From a personal point of view, Pam and I are happy about retirement but we're sad from the team's point of view," Robertson says. "We have a lot of great memories."

Robertson's favourite Holdens? "The original Monaros were outstanding from a visual point of view and sounded great but, to drive, the utes we've just handed back were the best cars we've ever had."

Robertson recruited talented young rally drivers and just 25 were deemed good enough for the team. Less than half a dozen were able to perform driving on two wheels.

The last show Robertson drove in was in Darwin in July 2004. Since then he maintained a managing role.